Ambassador Neil Parsan (left), Executive Secretary for Integral Development, conversing with Dr. Elliston Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador to the OAS and United Nations, at a meeting held ag the OAS on Wednesday, October 14, when The Bahamas was elected Chair of the Committee of the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs. Pictured in the background is Mikhail Bullard, Third Secretary, Embassy of The Bahamas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Bahamas, represented by His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Ambassador to the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS), was elected Chair of the Committee of the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs during a meeting at the OAS on Wednesday, October 14, 2015.

The Bahamas' nomination was moved by Ecuador and seconded by the United States. The Committee is tasked with managing, investing, mobilizing resources for and identifying potential uses for the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs.

The use of the Fund is confined to assisting Member States with their domestic efforts in pursuit of integral development goals by supporting human resource development in the priority areas established by the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) in response to the Summits of the Americas and the General Assembly of the Organization.

Pictured from left to right are Ms. Juliet Mallet-Phillip, Coordinator of OAS Scholarships and Training Programs; Ms. Nicole Duncan, Scholarships and Training Programs Division ; Ambassador Neil Parsan, Executive Secretary for Integral Development; Dr. Elliston Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador to the OAS and United Nations; Ambassador Sonia Johnny, Advisor in the Department of Human Development and Education; and Mikhail Bullard, Third Secretary, Embassy of The Bahamas.

The six-member Committee is composed of The Bahamas, Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti, the United States and the OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Ambassador Neil Parsan, who serves as an ex-officio member.

Election to Chair of the Committee is aligned with the Bahamas Permanent Mission’s goals to engage more intently with fiscal administrative matters at the OAS and help advance the OAS comparative advantage in the area of human development.